Theodoric the Horseman : insights into the crisis of three-dimensional media from statues and mosaics portraying an image of power

Equestrian images of Theodoric, King of the Ostrogoths, can be studied through written sources. This article focuses on the articulation between monumental sculptures that stood in public spaces and mosaic images recorded in the palaces of Ravenna and Pavia. This allows to reflect on the relationship between statuary and two-dimensional images in the depiction of the sovereign in Late Antiquity. Analysis of the main theoderician images known shows a renewed emphasis in representative media on two-dimensional images that served to place Theodoric in the tradition of the empire he led, presenting him at the same time as a leader with new ambitions for his realm.